With the closing bell in sight the index is heading for a finish in positive territory

15:40

‘Relief returned to markets on Wednesday’

Here’s good summary of the day’s play from Jasper Lawler, head of research at London Capital Group -

Relief returned to markets on Wednesday after two-days of concern over North Korean missile threats and the huge damage inflicted on Texas by tropical storm Harvey. Equity benchmarks remain down for the week in a sign that investor sentiment is still fragile. 7300 is proving to be decisive support in the FTSE 100 while the DAX regained 12,000. Wall Street opened mixed with any confidence drawn from faster economic growth in the second quarter balanced by a warning from Donald Trump that ‘Talking is not the answer’ to North Korea.

Shares of Sainsbury’s were amongst the top risers on the FTSE after the Co-op swooped in as a favourite bidder for convenience store chain Nisa. The rise in Sainsbury’s shares suggest investors would rather Co-op do the deal. There is a risk Sainsbury’s may be biting off more takeovers than they can chew so soon after the Argos deal.

Shares of HSS Hire crashed 20% after the company issued a profit warning on the back of “materially slower” sales in the second half of 2017. The poor results at HSS seem to be largely self-inflicted. The performance of tool-rental competitor Speedy Hire has been much better than HSS in 2017. Looking ahead, new chief executive Steve Ashmore seems to be putting his honeymoon period to good use. Ashmore’s cost-cutting plan can turn fortunes around so long as construction holds up in the post-Brexit environment.

15:25

Pound edging back up but going nowhere fast

The pound is starting to have a decent day against the euro, relatively speaking. It is now up over half a per cent to €1.0848

Still flat versus the dollar at $1.2918

14:39

Quiet start in US markets

The Dow Jones Industrial has opened 0.05% up at 21,851

12:51

The pound is holding steady

Not much movement in sterling today. The pound is worth $1.2925 or €1.0834

12:42

FTSE still up

The top index is up 0.35% at 7,362 as we hit the halfway point

11:50

Co-op swoops in on Nisa as Sainsbury’s walks away from the deal

The Co-op Group has entered into exclusive talks to acquire convenience store operator Nisa, replacing Sainsbury's as the front-runner in the process.

The Co-op is thought to have tabled a £140 million bid for Nisa, whose 1,300 shopkeeper members run 3,000 stores.

It comes after Sainsbury's, which is under pressure to respond to Tesco's £3.7 billion merger with wholesaler Booker, is thought to have paused takeover talks with Nisa.

The supermarket giant is understood to be awaiting the findings of a Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) probe into the Tesco-Booker deal before it makes its next move.

11:07

Fresh consumer credit numbers from the Bank of England out this morning

Consumer credit grew at its slowest pace for more than a year last month according to figures from the central bank.

The Money and Credit report showed annual growth in consumer credit eased to 9.8% - its lowest level since April 2016.

The amount borrowed reached £1.179 billion in July, down from £1.351 billion the month before as credit card lending dropped by 13% to £440 million.

It comes as official figures released last week laid bare the sustained squeeze on households, with consumer spending growing by 0.1% in the second quarter, down from 0.4% for the first three months of the year.

10:47

M&S is making moves in the Far East

Retail giant Marks & Spencer is in talks to franchise out its 27-store business in Hong Kong and Macau as it continues to overhaul its international presence.

M&S said it has started discussions with long-term franchise partner Al-Futtaim, which already operates 43 of its stores across seven markets in the Middle East, Singapore and Malaysia.

The move comes as part of efforts to cut the group's wholly owned international businesses under a wider overhaul announced last November.

M&S said its stores in Hong Kong and Macau will continue to trade as normal while talks continue with Al-Futtaim, which will carry out several months of due diligence.

Paul Friston, Marks & Spencer's international director, said: "In November we set out our plans to create a more sustainable, profitable and customer-centric international business for M&S by focusing on our established partnerships.

"Al-Futtaim is a key partner to M&S in Asia and the Middle East and we are both committed to putting the customer at the heart of everything we do."

M&S first opened stores in Hong Kong in 1988 and said the business is profitable with a "loyal customer base."

10:19

'Once again US markets put the bears back in their box'

Chris Beauchamp, chief market analyst at IG -

Thoughts of nuclear apocalypse appear far from everyone’s minds this morning, as markets rebound from yesterday’s lows. Once again US markets put the bears back in their box, rallying in fine style off the lows. It was ‘Turnaround Tuesday’, after all.

It is, however, probably too early to celebrate, since indices are already turning lower from the morning highs. The Korean situation is not going away, and once August is out of the way thoughts will turn to the upcoming debt ceiling situation in the US.

Yesterday’s bounce could easily be a reflex action, without much to carry it forward over the longer-term. As we head into the autumn, equity markets face a series of challenges, not the least of which are the Fed and ECB’s policy direction. It is unlikely to be a smooth ride to the end of the year.

10:04

Better day for WH Smith

Shares in the retailer are up 0.4% to 1858p after a solid trading update.

The company said its travel business 'continues to deliver a strong performance' and a new store opening programme both in the UK and internationally is in line with its plan.

Its high street business continues to perform in line with expectations. Cost savings and margin improvements have been delivered as expected.

09:29

Bad day for tool hire chain HSS

The firms shares hare 17% into the red at 46p after a lackluster update.

The group saw pre-tax losses nearly quadruple to £30.1 million for the six months to July 1 from £7.8 million a year earlier.

It said while its recovery plan had helped return the group to profit in June and driven revenue growth in its beleaguered rental division, progress has been "materially" slower than expected.

08:57

Gym Group shares down 1.4% despite spike in profit

The fitness chain pumped up revenues and profits in the first half of the year, helped by a rising number of Britons trying to get fit.

The company posted an 18.8% rise in revenue to £42.8 million in the six months to June 30, while statutory pre-tax profit rocketed 75.5% to £5.9 million.

Membership numbers increased by 19.8% to 508,000 and boss John Treharne said The Gym Group is limbering up for its next raft of openings.

He said: "We have delivered another period of strong growth in membership, revenue and profit.

"We have continued to expand our footprint across the UK, opening six new gyms in the period, two in H2 to date, with several more currently in fit out.

"Our strategy remains the same: to take advantage of the demand for high-quality, low-cost, 24/7 gyms whilst continuing to innovate through the use of technology and digital marketing."